Flying-machine.



s. w. SMITH.

ELYING MACHINE.- APPLlcMioN man nic. x, 1915.

l l 99, 2 1 5 Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET M e, me

S. W.' SMITH.'

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLlcmoN man nec. 1,491.5.

Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.I

mmm@ immatten/waa,

S. W. SMITH.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLlcAnoN man Dic. 1. 1915.

1,199,215, PmemaSept. 26,1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET UNITED STATES SIDNEY W. SMITH, 0F BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA.

FLYING-MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, SIDNEYW.' SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Berkeley, in the county of Alameda, and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Flying-Machines, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to improvements 1n iying machines, and particularly to lying machines of the aeroplane class, and one of its objects is to provide a yin machine having a forward supporting sur ace of the biplane type and a rear supporting surface of the monoplane type, arranged 'for cooperation with the upper plane of the biplane structure, whereby in the travel of the machine, increased supporting eiiiciency, with greater inherent stability, both longitudinally and laterally, will be obtained.

A further object of the invention is to provide a flying machine having an improved construction and arrangement of steering'and stabilizing elements, whereby superior steadiness of Hight and ease of steering and stability control are obtained.

-A still further object is to provide a flying machine having a novel construction of tail piece embodying vanes adjustable for lateral steering, banking and stabilizing actions.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a iiying machine of novel general construction, whereby'other advantages are gained, as will be hereinafter fully described. 4

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of the features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, fully detailed in the following description, in which2 Figure 1 is a front elevation of a lylng machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 1s a top plan view of the machine. Fig. 4: is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3. Fig.`5 is a sectional on the line 5 5 of Fig. il. Fig. 61s a detail section through one of the lower wings of the biplane structure, showing the arrangement of the associated ailerons. Fig. 7 is a detail view illustrating certain adjustments of the tail planes. Fig. 8 is a detail view showing more particularly the construction and arrangement of one of the skids. Fig. 9 is a detail section through a portion of Specification of `Letters Patent.

lan view Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

Application led December 1, 1915. Serial No. 64,483.

the main frame illustrating the mode of' mounting the rear supporting wheels.

In the practical embodiment of lmy invention, I provide ,a mainframe or fuselage 1 comprising upper and lower pairs of longitudinal parallel beams 24 and front and rear pairs of uprights 3, said uprights having extensions 4 projecting -below lthe main frame and extension iprojecting above the main frame. Suitably secured to `and projecting rearwardly from the upper portion of the main frame is a tail frame 6 formed by extensions of the upper beams 2 and suitable uprights 7, the parts being connected and braced at proper points by-cross bars 8. The lower front extensions 4 are slotted or bifurcated to receive front supporting skids or runners 9, pivotally connected thereto near their front ends, as indicated at 10, the rear ends of the skids being coupled by means of coiled cushioning springslll and cables or other Hexible connections 12 to a pivoted lever 13 whereby the cables are normally held taut and the springs expanded to maintain the skids in a normal, operativeposition. The pivotal end connections and springs adaptthe skidsto have yielding motion to a certain degree in the travel of the'skids over the surface of the.

ground and in landing actions, while by means of the lever the cables may be adjusted to swing the rear ends of the skids upwardly when the machine-is in course of travel. The lower rear extensions 4 are slotted to receive a transverse axle 14 yieldingly backed by bumper springs 15, which axle carries rear supporting wheels 16, by means -of which, in conjunction with the skids, the machine may be supported when it rests upon the ground and all shocks and jars absorbed in launching and landing actions.

The body of the main frame is inclosed .by side walls or surfaces 17, composed in whole or part of some suitable non-iniiammable transparent material, so as to provide a cabin or compartment 18 for occupancy by the. pilot and passengers, if any, and in which the lever 13 and other control devices are arranged.- These transparent side walls permit the occupants of the compartment to have free observation in both lateral directions while at the same time they the machine from having side draft or skidding. The cabin may be inclosed, wholly-or partly at top, bottom front and rear, asmay be desired, to shield the pilot and others against the elements and, also against bullets or other flying missiles in military work. Extending atthe top of the machine longitudinally of the greater portion of the main and tail frames are other spaced vertical walls or surfaces 19 which serve as upper fixed tins or keels operated t0 resist both lateral skidding and lateral tilting, -and also forming a Isubstantially trough-shaped passage for the liow of a current or column of air designed to increase the efficiency of action of the steering devices. v

y The supporting surface of the machine comprises upper and lowei front supporting planes 20 and 21, forming a forward biplane structure, and a single rear supporting plane or monoplane lsurface 22, which planes may be of any suitable construction, but are herewith shown as formed of a suitable framework 23 and covering 24 of fabric or other sheet material. be observed that'the rear supporting plane 2 2 is disposed in rear of, in spaced relation to and at a slight angle above the upper front supporting lplane 20, or rather the wings of the plane 22 are arranged at an elevation above-the Wings of the plane 20.

The lower plane 21 is preferably provided with ,substantially rectangular or oblong rectangular wings which are conventionally curved in a fore-and-aft-direction, and are of greater width or fore-and-aft dimensions f than the wings of the lane 20, which wings of the plane 20 have t eir outer extremities inclined divergently in an inward and rearward direction from their front corner portions or tips.. The leading edges of the wings of the rear plane 22 preferably overlap the trailing edges of the plane 21 and also have their outer end edges inclined inwardly and' rearwardly at a converging angle,- the said wings of the plane 22 having, like the plane 21, any ordinary or conventional fore-and-aft lifting curvature. The' wings of the plane 20, however, are of novel form, said planes being substantially straight but slightly curved longitudinally and laterally, as between the points 25 and 26, for -a distance of about one-fourth of their length from their inner ends, and

from such points to their outer ends or extremities being curved downwardly, outwardly and rearwardly helicoidally, whereby the air striking the reaction surfaces of said wings will be caused by their peculiar conformation to flow, after compression and" reaction upon the surfaces of said wings, rearwardly on inwardly and rearwardly converging lines beneath the surfaces ofthe plane 22 and downwardly It will side of the plane 21 so for asecondary reaction upon the surfaces v of the plane 22, by means of which a secondary supporting action thereon will be obtained. By this construction and arrangement of the planes the supporting eliiciency of a biplane structure is gained, while in addition the upper rear plane gives an added lifting action at a point above and in rear of the transverse axis of the machine, whereby the lifting impulses upon the double planes at the front and the single planes at the rear will counteract each other against detiection of the machine from its flying attitude, thus preventing loss of longitudinal stability while providing a machine which has great lifting or supporting power. y

Arranged at ,the front and rear of the machine are horizontal rudders or eleva-tors 27 and 28. The front elevator 27 is approximately Tshapedand extends transversely in the space between the front upper extensions 5 and the forward ends of the surfaces 19 andis provided with an arm extending rearwardly between said surfaces and pivoted thereto to tilt vertically on a horizontal transverse axis 29, such elevator thus being arranged to lie in the path of the air flowing beneath it and through the channel formed by said walls19. The rear elevator 28 is straight and of oblong rectangular form and is dispod longitudinally between the side beams of the tail frame and is centrally pivoted thereto to swing on a fixed axle pin or axis 30, said rear elevator being arranged so that its upper surface lies in the path of the air flowing through the vaforesaid channel, so that when the rudders are tilted simultaneously in opposite directions maximum air pressures will be obtained to tilt the machine lvertically on its horizontal transverse axis for longitudinal control or stabilization and steering in an upward or downward direction. As shown in the present instance, the front plane is connected by a link 31 and the rear plane by a crank arm 32 to a connecting rod or bar 33 operable by a vertically disposed swinging lever 3l arranged within the pilot compartment whereby the rudders may be controlled. It will, of course, be understood that the levers 13 and 3l may be provided with suitable latch mechanism for locking them in adjusted position against accidental displacement, which latch mechanism muv be of the ordinary spring dog and rack segment type. For the purpose of securing increased lateral stability I preferablyr em,- ploy ailerons 35 arranged beneath the outer rear corners of thelower piane 21, said ailerons being hinged at their front edges to swing vertically and adapted when in normal position to lie snugly against the underthat in such position they will constitutey a part of the supporting surface. The rear ends of the ailerons are apertured for guiding connection with depending guide bars 36 and are connected by cables 37, passing over suitable guide pulleys 38, with independent shoulder fork arms or levers 40 and 41 pivoted to the supporting post or upright of the aviators seat 42 so as to swing inwardly and outwardly and connected at their upper or rear ends by a coiled spring 43 whereby the fork arms are normally maintained in retracted position to -hold the ailerons elevated. The upper ends of the fork arms are disposed in such position that the aviator by simply leaning in one direction or the other may press upon and operate one or the other arms to depress either one of the ailerons for the desired stabilizing "a'ction. .By this means the machine when unbalanced laterally may be restored to a normal balance by the depression of a single aileron on the depressed side only, so as to increase the area of the supporting surface and gain a stabilizing lift without increasing the head resistance at such side as to exert a retarding action and cause the machine to tilt longitudinally on its vertical axis.

Mounted upon the tail frame is a tail plane comprising a pair of small triangular planes or wings 44 and 45, mounted to swing vertically on the rod or shaft which forms the axis of the rear elevator, said tail planes being disposed on opposite sides of said elevator. Connected with these planes are cords or cables 46l which extend forwardly over suitable guide pulleys 47 and are connected with a foot lever 48 in the pilots cabinV or compartment, the arrangement of said cords or cables being such that upon a swinging movement of the lever in one direction one tail plane will be depressed `'and the other elevated, and upon a swinging movement of the lever in the opposite direction a reverse adjustment ofthe tail planes will take place. Hence it will be understood that while the tail planes normally provide a lifting surface to sustain the weight of the tail portion ofthe frame, said planes are also adjustable to perform the function of a vertical rudder and in addition they also serve as lateral balancing surfaces, the action of the planes on being adjusted serving to bank the machine to the proper degree in turning operations, etc.

The means for propelling the machine may be of any proper type, but as shown in the present instance a tractor propeller 49 is arranged at the front of the machine in advance of the pilots compartment and is driven from a motor 50, and other tractor propellers 51 and 52 are arranged at a point between the upper main plane and the monoplane or lfalling plane on opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the machine and are driven by belt or chains in opposite directions from a second motor 53, any suitable means for governing the operation of the ,motors being in practice employed. Any other style of propelling mechanism and arrangement of the propellers may, however, be employed.

I claim :4-

l. A flying machine embodying a frame, a lower supporting plane upon the frame, an upper supporting plane arranged immediately above said lower supporting plane, said planes having their leading edges substantially in vertical alinement and the upper plane being of less width than the lower plane and having its outer edges inclined rearwardly on converging lines, the wings of the upper plane being helicoidally curved, and a following plane disposed above and in rear of said upper supporting plane with its leading edge spaced therefrom and overlapping the trailing edge of the lower supporting plane.

2. A flying machine embodying a main frame carryingrupper and lower supporting planes, a tail frame carrying a supporting plane arranged above and in rear of the upper plane upon the main frame, vertical surfaces upon the main frame between the superposed planes and forming an inclosed cabin or compartment, vertical surfaces upon the upperl portions of the main and tail planes extending over the front and rear upper planes, front and rear elevators at the front and rear of the second-named. vertical surfaces, and means for adjusting said elevators in opposite directions in unison. r

In testimony whereof I atiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SIDNEY lV. SMITII. lVitnesses:

HARRY M. Fnos'rnoLM, E. TnEmrA KIGUTLINGER. 

